A hose bridge of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,258. Hose bridges are used for bridging (temporarily) laid out hoses in such a way that vehicles, such as lorries and fire engines, can cross the hoses without squashing these flat or damaging them. The hose bridges have an up and a down ramp, as a result of which the vehicles are able to drive over the hose without too much trouble.
The condition for this is, however, that the hose bridge is not too high. In the case of traditional fire hoses which have a diameter of 75 mm the difference in height is still restricted, so that the up and down ramps can be of a restricted length and the bridge can be put in place without many problems.
However, the disadvantage of the traditional hoses of restricted diameter is that the fluid transport is accompanied by substantial loss of energy. In practice, therefore, ever greater use is being made of hoses of a larger diameter, for example of 200 mm or even more. However, with hoses of this type the difference in height to be bridged by means of a hose bridge is so great that very long up and down ramps would have to be used. For a removable hose bridge this requirement leads to a complex, bulky and high, less stable hose bridge.
As a consequence of their size, such hose bridges would, moreover, not be able to be put in place in a simple and rapid manner, as a result of which the traffic, for example of fire engines, is seriously impeded and firefighting can progress less well.